Summary
- Stun gun disguised as iPhone seized at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
- Stun gun is the 26th confiscated this year at the airport.
- TSA states stun guns must be inoperable to travel.
A departing passenger from Washington DC’s Raegan airport had their stun gun, disguised as an iPhone, confiscated at security on Tuesday. The
TSA
clearly states that any “tasers, stun guns and electroshock weapons must be transported that renders the device inoperable from accidental discharge.” The fake phone was then seized by TSA agents at the airport’s security checkpoint.
Stun gun disguised as iPhone confiscated by TSA officials
The officials at
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
(DCA) confiscated the stun gun disguised as an iPhone that was in the passenger’s carry-on baggage and was identified by the security agents as at the bottom of the fake iPhone, at the bottom where you would usually plug it in to charge, it had two prongs that indicated where you could zap someone. This stun gun marks the 26th gun to be confiscated at the Washington DC airport so far this year.
Photo: David Tran Photo | Shutterstock
While it is legal to carry a stun gun within the state of Virginia, there are some restrictions, such as they are prohibited from being carried through TSA
Checkpoints
. However, they are permissible in a checked bag. According to the TSA website, the penalty for carrying weapons currently stands at a maximum of $15,000. TSA Spokesperson Lisa Farbstein shared this advice, as reported by 8NewsNow:
“If you do have a stun gun, a Taser or something like that, you may travel with it. If you want to transport it for your flight, the right way to do it is to make sure that it’s inoperable. So you want to take out the batteries.”
The passengers, whose stun gun was confiscated, were questioned at the time; however, they were not arrested or charged with any offense. However, the stun gun was consequently confiscated.
Other passengers were shocked at how realistic the iPhone looked
Nexstar’s WDCW questioned other passengers arriving and departing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) this week about the recent seizure, and those spoken to were surprised at how realistic the phone looked:
“That’s absolutely crazy. I’m glad they were able to catch that. I mean, that’s scary.” – Jennifer Lucio Vargas.
“In the folder of crazy things, I suppose this is just one more object to go with the big knives and the guns and what have you. But that’s pretty ingenious. And also disturbing.” – Jim Asplund
“There’s all kinds of things that you hear about people trying to get stuff through, but it seems like they’re doing a good job to keep it out.” – John Denning
As Farbstien reiterated, the TSA has seen a record number of passengers pass through airport checkpoints this summer, which has resulted in a record number of items being confiscated.
Related
The TSA Has Intercepted 1,500 Guns At US Airports So Far This Year
The TSA intercepts thousands of firearms every year, even though these weapons can usually be brought as checked luggage.